1. Fields of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to an apparatus and method for allowing uniform expansion of the electrodes within a gas laser tube, and, more particularly, to an apparatus and method in which a pair of elongated, parallel, electrically insulated electrodes are supported within an elongated gas laser tube to allow sliding, unconstrained, longitudinal movement of the electrodes relative to the tube without torsion to accommodate uneven thermal expansion of the combination while maintaining a predetermined spaced-apart relationship of the electrodes and tube.
2. Discussion of Background and Prior Art
A persistent problem with those gas lasers which typically have a pair of elongated, parallel, electrodes supported in spaced-apart relation within a long sealed tube, such as, air cooled waveguide, air cooled free-space and more recently, air cooled free-space slab lasers, is the uneven longitudinal thermal expansion of the electrodes and tube causing damage to or misalignment of components essential to operation of the laser.
There have been numerous attempts to solve these and related thermal expansion problems in gas lasers with limited success.